The Garden of the Eastern Citadel
by TheCobaltKiller
Summary: Nathan Drake and his wife, Elena, head out to India to find the body of one of Nathan's old friends. Son they find a map which leads them to a vast fortune, and Nathan has to make some of the toughest decisions of his life.
1. Chapter One: Found

With wavering hands in the dark, tiny wooden box, in which he had been left to rot, the man used the palm-sized gold coin that he had pulled out from his back pocket to engrave his final testament on the inner lid:

_Some chains can never be broken. You have left me rotting in this hell hole; buried alive, erased, and you never looked back. But you can't outrun the past, and when it catches up, when all your lies collapse around you, I'll be there sifting through the wreckage. You owe me._

**-5 Years Later—**

"What is this, a joke?" asked Elena, impatiently.

"No, no."

"Nate, you promised me an archaeological find and here we are standing in front of the Taj Mahal!"

"Ha, ha. You'll see," Nathan chuckled under his breath, as he proceeded to the towering citadel that was the famous Taj Mahal. Once they had advanced to Yamuna, Nathan spoke again, "Just North of here is the Moonlight Garden. Follow me." He led Elena through to the garden and checked to see if anyone was around. He handed Elena one of the shovels which had been laid down by the grass.

"What are we doing?" she asked anxiously.

"We're digging up an old 'friend'... The coffin should be just over here," he walked over to where he had been pointing and began to dig. "Hurry! We have to be discrete!"

After swiftly digging up piles of dirt and hauling them over their shoulders, the pair pulled up the wooden coffin by the metal handles on the side. Nathan wedged his shovel in place and utilized it ad though it was a crowbar, in order to remove the lid. Nathan turned up the lid and ran his fingers along the almost illegible inscription. He read out loud and then gently put down the lid, "Yep... I owe you one..."

He knelt on one knee and leant over the side of the coffin. For a moment, he stared at the body and then turned to Elena.

"You see this mask on his face?" he asked her. She nodded. "It's the Mask of Agamemnon. This artefact is a funeral mask crafted in gold, and was found over the face of a body located in a burial shaft. This body." Slowly, he removed the mask. "Poor Dante, I left him alone in a caved in chamber. From there he found his way through to the burial site, where he took a poison which didn't quite kill him. However, the excavators at the site thought he was dead and placed him in a coffin."

"But how did he wind up here?"

Although Nathan could answer her question, he remained silent. "That doesn't matter," he replied after a short while. "What matters is this."

He turned over the mask, to find another engraving. It was a series of drawings. He pulled out some paper and began to make charcoal rubbings of them all. When he was finished, he collected what he needed and grabbed Elena's hand. "Now we run!"


	2. Chapter Two: Peru

"Quick!" shouted Nathan, as he hauled his backpack over his shoulder and pulled Elena. "They're here!"

"Who?"

"Later... Just come on!"

The two ran across the lawn to the wall and Nathan gave Elena a boost over, before jumping and hauling himself up. They crouched and moved slowly along the wall and up to the corner. As they turned it they froze, as just then they saw a group of five men armed with FAL assault rifles. Nathan upholstered his gun and Elena did the same.

They fired the one shot each, taking out the first two men, and then took cover behind some columns. The third man began firing as the other two found cover behind their Jeep. Nathan swiftly turned out of cover, shot to kill the man and then took cover again. Elena was the one to take out the other two as she had stealthily flanked them, without even Nathan knowing.

"Wow!" exclaimed Nathan, astonished at Elena's skill.

"What did you expect?" she replied, jokily.

The couple returned to their hotel by the early morning and Nathan sat down at a desk, which he had blanketed in photos and research notes. He opened his backpack, which he had placed on the floor to the right side of his chair, and pulled out the charcoal rubbings he had taken.

As Elena opened the doors to the balcony to let in the sun, a gust of wind gently lifted her hair and then moved some of Nathan's papers. However, he was too concentrated on his work to notice. He was rearranging the rubbings to try and recreate the map which the engravings once were.

"Ah ha!" he exclaimed, having finished piecing together the puzzle. "I have finished working on the map! Take a look."

Elena strode slowly to the desk, leant over the back of Nathan's chair and admired his work. "Where do you think it is?" she asked, with a furrowed brow, after thinking for some time.

"I translated some of these symbols," he replied, pointing to some obscure symbols. "This is in Peru. We can get there easily by plane. I'll have Sully hook us up."

"Purrs like a kitten, doesn't she?" chuckled Sully, patting the water plane on the side.

"Sure," shouted Nathan, sarcastically, through the engine's noise.

"Sounds more like a roaring lion to me," Elena remarked. She grabbed the wing and hopped through the door.

Sully and Nathan followed shortly after and sat down in the cock pit. Elena sat down and then opened her bag. She pulled out a book on archaeology and began reading. Nathan took a look and then prepared for takeoff as Sully's co-pilot.

"Still a beginner, I see," Sully laughed.

"Sure... But, damn! You should see her with a gun!"

Hours past before the trio and their plane came in sight of their destination. Nathan turned back to Elena and spoke, "Almost there!" His words were joyous, but his tone changed drastically as he turned around. "Oh, crap!"

Sully jumped out of his seat and grabbed the three parachutes. He put one on and handed another to Elena. He left the last for Nathan and jumped. Nathan began to get out f his seat when he shouted an order at Elena, "Jump!"

Elena leapt out of the plane and, just like her husband had taught her, counted to five before pulling the cord. The parachute expanded immediately and she looked up to see if she could see Nathan. And she could; he was still in the cockpit. She saw him begin to get up as the left wing exploded.

"NATE!"


End file.
